A Mentor Gone
by GreySide58
Summary: After hearing tragic news about his uncle, Jess comes back to Stars Hallow.


**A/N: **I hope you all like this. I had fun writing it, even if it is sad and I had to torture Jess a little.

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely nothing, except for Katie

An older black Mustang pulled into the drive. The Guns&Roses CD cut out as the driver cut the engine. He didn't get out right away, but sat there, staring at the house he hadn't been to in a little over twenty years. The call he'd received a day earlier had been a shock.

_He sat at his desk; reviewing the pages the author had sent him. Letting loose a yawn, he wiped a tired hand over his eyes. He'd promised the author word back tomorrow and he still had fifty pages. Although fifty pages wasn't usually a lot, they were all on the computer, making them hard on his eyes._

_His cell phone rang as he reached the middle of a page. The phone call, he thought, would allow for a well-deserved short break._

_"Mariano." He answered without looking to see who was calling. He leaned back in the chair he was sitting in._

"_Jess." The voice on the other line said._

"_Lorelai?" he said, sitting up straight. He was shocked to hear her voice. She never called him; it was always Luke._

"_Yeah, it's me." Her voice sounded tired._

"_Wow. This is a surprise. Is everything ok? Is Rory ok?" he asked with worry. Something was off about the phone call and he sensed it._

"_No, she's fine. Jess, it's Luke."_

"_Luke? Is he all right? Does he need money or something?" Jess knew his uncle would never ask anyone for money, he did know though that Lorelai would go behind his back and ask for money and knowing that they didn't always rake in money from the inn or the diner all the time, he knew they were sometimes short on cash. Although he knew that he himself didn't have a lot of money on hand, he would be willing to give what he could to the uncle who had done so much for him._

"_It's not money, Jess. Luke is dead." The breath seemed to leave Jess's body at that point as he had a hard time believing what she'd just told him. He'd just talked to Luke. He had noticed that Luke sounded tired, but he'd put it off as he was just overworked._

"_You still there, Jess?" Lorelai asked after a couple of seconds when Jess didn't answer._

"_Uh, yeah, what happened, Lorelai? I just talked to him."_

"_Luke had cancer and it was past the point of any treatment working." Jess could almost hear her fighting to keep her voice even._

"_Cancer? How come nobody told me?" he asked, his voice slightly agitated._

"_He didn't want anyone to know. He only told me and your mom and made us promise not to tell a soul. Your mom and I both wanted to tell you, Jess. We really did." Her voice was cracking now._

"_Oh." He didn't know what else to say. The one person who'd been a guide in his life was gone._

"_Please come back, Jess." She said he knew without a doubt he would._

"_I'll be there." He said before hanging up._

Now here he sat in front of the house his uncle had lived in since the day he and Lorelai had gotten married. After taking a deep breath he got out of the car and walked up to the front door. Before he could knock, a girl, who looked to be about fifteen, answered the door.

"Are you, Jess?" she asked him. He knew right away this was Katie, Luke and Lorelai's daughter. Luke had sent him pictures at Christmas and he'd kept every one of them.

"Yeah. You're Katie. You look a lot like your mom." He told her as he stood there, his hands jabbed into his pockets.

"Everybody says that. Come in. Mom's upstairs." He came in. Before she said anything he spoke.

"I'll go up. I know my way around and I should probably talk to her alone." He said.

"Ok. Be nice though." He had to let a small smile show at this.

"I will." He said as he went towards the steps, but stopped short and turned around.

"You don't have to be strong, Katie, he was your dad. While I'm here, let me be strong." He told her. He barely knew her, but he knew he had to say something. The moment she'd opened the door to him, he'd seen the pain in her eyes, while the rest of her face veiled nothing. She didn't say anything, but only nodded. He turned away and went up the steps. When he reached the room he knocked.

"Come in." he heard Lorelai call. Slowly he opened the door where Lorelai sat on her bed, just sort of staring. She looked up when he opened the door and a strained smile came over her face when she saw him.

"Jess, you came." She said, quickly wiping away the tears that had been falling as she stood up.

"I came." He said, not really looking at her. She shocked him a bit when she came over and hugged him. After a second he hugged her back knowing she needed it and, he would only admit it to himself, he needed it too.

"Jess, will you speak at the funeral?" she asked after a minute. He looked at her, unsure of what to say. He swallowed hard before answering.

"Sure. I'd love to."

"Good."

"Is Rory coming back?" he asked after another minute. He knew that chapter of pining after her was over and that she was with Logan. He still cared about Rory though, especially since she was now like family, being Lorelai's daughter and all.

"Yeah, her and Logan are coming in tonight." She said with a small smile.

"Is it alright for her to travel and everything?" he asked with concern.

"She'll be fine. She's only four months along. I don't think we have to worry." She smiled as she said this, touched by his concern for her daughter.

"Good. Lorelai, thanks for calling me back." He told her with all sincerity.

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Jess stood in front of what he assumed was basically the entire town, his uncle's casket on the floor in front of the podium. His palms were sweating as he looked over at the sea of faces that he had left so many years earlier. Rory was sitting next to Logan in the front next to Lorelai and Katie. He could see that she'd been crying and probably still was. Looking away from her, he took a deep breath before speaking.

"As you all know I'm the problem child who entered your lives one year and left a couple years later for good. Those years, although I never would've admitted it then, I'll say it now, were the best ones ever. Luke took me when my mom called him, didn't ask really any questions, just took me in. He tried hard to set me straight, to teach me responsibility, to get me a good education. So many times I let him down, but Luke, being the guy he was didn't give up. Luke was one in a million. He had the loyalty of a soldier, never willing to give up. Luke would drop anything and give you a hand you needed. He was the best anyone could ask for. So many times, I screwed up and so many times he was there to help me out. Most of the time it was him correcting me, but I'll honestly say, I didn't mind. I liked it. Luke was the one solid thing in my life, the one person I knew I could always count on, the one person I knew who would always care for me. Yes, I had my mom, but Luke was different. He was stable." Jess paused for a moment as he took a breath, as he continued to keep a tight reign over his emotions. He looked at the people who had only been a blip in his life, but who had made such a difference as well. After taking another deep breath he continued to speak.

"Luke did everything for everyone, especially when it came to his family. Family was more important than life itself to him, it really was. Just remember him that way. I wasn't here when he got weaker, though I wish I had been. I want to remember him that way and I want you to remember him that way." Jess swallowed hard as he stepped away from the pulpit. He didn't look at anyone as he made his way to sit next to Rory. She took his hand and gave it a squeeze. A small smile came across his face as he squeezed back, thankful for the comforting squeeze.

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Everyone was in the diner eating and talking. Most of the talk was about Luke and everything that he'd done. Jess just sort of observed everybody, thinking about his own past with Luke. He would acknowledge people when they would come up to him and offer condolences; Taylor had even come up to him. The person that surprised him the most though was Logan. Logan had actually started talking to him, doing more than just offering condolences.

"Hey, man, how's it goin'?"

"Ok given the circumstances." Jess replied.

"Been awhile since you and I talked. Five years I think."

"Their anniversary. We were at the restaurant in New York."

"Right. Luke had the lobster. That guy became obsessed with that stuff after the vineyard."

"Yeah, even talked me into getting it." Jess said, with a slight roll of the eyes.

"I remember that, that went badly." Logan said with a smile.

"I'll never touch lobster again."

"Come on, you just got a bad one. You still haven't tried mine."

"Let's wait a couple years. That's the last I'll ever trust him…" any other thought that may have been a part of what he was saying was cut off as the realization of the words he'd said hit.

"Excuse me." He said, walking past Logan and out of the diner.

"What happened?" Rory asked as she came up to Logan. She'd seen the two of them talking and then Jess walking out.

"We were just talking and then I must've said something. I don't know. How are you holding up?" Logan asked, turning the attention away from Jess and on to his wife.

"I'm alright. It's just weird ya know? He was like my father. He basically helped my mom raise me. Now he's gone." She said as tears welled up in her eyes. Logan put a comforting arm around her. After a minute she gently pulled out of the arm and looked at him.

"I should go find Jess."

"Why? I'm sure he's fine." Logan said, not wanting her to go.

"Logan, he just lost Luke. The man was all he had. He needs someone to talk to." She told him.

"Alright. Just be careful."

"It's Jess, I couldn't be more careful." She said, knowing full well that no matter what she wouldn't get hurt around Jess. He was protective of her.

"Ok. I'm just sayin'. I love you."

"Love you too, Logan." She said, giving him a quick kiss before leaving the diner. She went towards the bridge, knowing Jess had probably headed there. When she reached the bridge she knew she'd made the right decision.

"Hey, stranger, mind if I sit?" she asked as she walked up to him.

"Free country." He said with a shrug of his shoulders as he looked out at the water.

"How are you doing?" she asked as she sat down beside him.

"I'm ok. Just had to get out of there. Clear my head. I'm glad everybody came, he deserved it."

"Yeah. I'm really gonna miss him. Even if I didn't see him everyday like I used to, I knew I could always come up and see him." She said quietly as tears rolled down her face.

"Yeah. He always called, even if nothing was up. Usually to make sure I hadn't gotten myself killed." He let a small chuckle leave his lips. Luke was never going to call him again and he knew that. Never again would he be able to talk to the man who was responsible for who he was. The man who had set him straight was gone for good.

All his emotions that he'd been holding back caught up with him. They refused to be held back anymore and as much as he hated to break down in front of Rory of all people, he couldn't help it. Rory put her arms around him as he cried

"He opened his home to me and what did I do, I threw everything he did for me back into his face." He said as he started to gain control over his emotions, although now his voice was angry. She took her arms off of him, but held his hand with one of hers.

"You weren't that bad, Jess. You just had some trouble when you first came here. You got better. I don't know how many times Mom told me how proud Luke was of you."

"He was really proud of me?" he seemed honestly shocked.

"Yeah. You'd made something of yourself. You've written three books already and you're an editor."

"I know, it's just, I don't know."

"Jess, although he may have never said it in words, he loved you." She told him. He turned his head to look at her when she said this. He nodded his head and then stood up.

"We should head back. Logan will send a search party out for you if you don't come back." He said, smiling a little.

"You alright?"

"I will be." He gave her hand a squeeze before letting go and putting both of his hands in his pockets. They walked back to the diner in a comfortable silence. When they reached the diner Jess gently grabbed Rory's arm, stopping her from going in. She looked at him, wondering why he'd done it.

"You look good, Rory." He said.

"Thanks, you too."

"No, I mean, this, being pregnant, being married, it works for you. I'm glad you're happy. He's not the jerk I pegged him for. He's a good guy." He told her honestly. She went up to him and gave him a small kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks, Jess, that means a lot. And don't worry, Dodger, you'll find that special girl somewhere." She said with a smile before heading into the diner. Jess followed behind her slowly. He took one last look at the people, before heading up to the apartment above. This diner was his uncle's legacy, the thing that had connected him to the town, where Lorelai had come to know him, where he himself had worked when he came to Stars Hallow to live with Luke. The diner was his home, no matter how long he was gone from it.

**The End**


End file.
